From his beginnings as one of the founding members of Metallica, Mustaine has blown away crowds pressed to the stage with his characteristically contorted vocal lines while simultaneously nailing impossible rhythm parts.

Pop's, Sauget, Ill.

Megadeth is powerful force using their unique voice to put out new music and new ideas about our current global situation. Come on now; don't let your preconceptions make you miss out on pure musical expression backed by 25 years of experience kicking ass. What I mean by pure is that they are playing what they feel, without the interference of trying to tailor their product and performances to the latest trends or the hottest markets. What I mean by years of kicking ass is that their music has lightning fast complex passages being played to perfection, whipping the crowd into a metal frenzy. Even if you are not into the style of music, you cannot deny the sheer teamwork involved in their performances.

Too often, bands that have origins in the 80's get lumped into the category of "hair bands." This pisses me off because there is a huge difference between the music, the message and the fans of metal bands and "glam" bands. I hate the way the true music of the day often gets obscured by people making gross generalizations about the Metal Age.

One stalwart survivor that continues to stay on message as an opponent of war and a critic of the government and its policies is Dave Mustaine and Megadeth. From his beginnings as one of the founding members of Metallica, Mustaine has blown away crowds pressed to the stage with his characteristically contorted vocal lines while simultaneously nailing impossible rhythm parts. Besides that, he is a freakin' amazing soloist. Mustaine's lead guitar playing is, in a word, fierce. His tone and attack are unrelenting, and leave you feeling like you might be missing some skin somewhere.

Megadeth is Mustaine's brainchild, as the main songwriter and lyricist, but as I said, it is the teamwork of the band that makes his message larger than life. There have been many changes in the lineup over the years, but that has not diminished the quality in any way. It's not like he would settle for anything but totally pro players to replace legends like renowned shredder Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza. The bassist James Lomenzo is the newest member, joining in 2006, and was previously playing with the likes of Black Label Society, David Lee Roth, Slash's Snakepit, Pride & Glory, Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley and White Lion.

Then there are the two brothers, drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Glen Drover. Shawn Drover's drumming is thunderous and tight, supplying the roadmap for navigating hairpin turns at high speed. There are a lot of great guitar players out there, but Shawn Drover's playing possess a quality that I think really makes him stand out. That is the authority with which he plays and his actual tone. His lead parts were succinct and he seriously muscled out the vibrato of the sustained notes with his left hand. The tone of his guitar and amp setup reinforced the smoothness of his playing by having a bit of a midrange boost through his rig when he switched to lead parts. (To you guitarists out there I can't stress enough the importance of controlling your midrange frequencies correctly to fit in the mix.) Shawn Drover and Mustaine traded some blistering solos and harmonized on some sweet melodic parts.

The crowd roared out the words for "Peace Sells but Who's Buying" and "Symphony of Destruction." They played quite a bit of their recent material including songs from the new disc, United Abominations, and the epic "Holy Wars"; although I was surprised not to hear "Angry Again" and "Foreclosure of a Dream."

The opening band, In The Moment, was very impressive. After my ears adjusted to the speed metal pace, I realized that they were pulling off some pretty intricate riffs. They are unique in having a female singer, but she can wail along with the best of them. The drums were bad ass and the guitar players both played lead really well. They were heavy and got the crowd warmed up and ready to rock. But there is no denying the wall of sound that is Megadeth that followed. There is a reason they are who they are. They have new CD's and DVD's out there and an upcoming 4-disc box set. Go get some Megadeth in your arsenal - it's the perfect thing to listen to after watching CNN or Fox News. | Derek Lauer